Dilfer, a former NFL quarterback currently in his eighth year as an NFL analyst for ESPN, was trying to redeem himself after Schefter escalated the verbal warfare Tuesday morning, denying Dilfer’s claims that Schefter was being used by the Patriots when he speculated about Jimmy Garoppolo’s trade value.

“Adam and I are very, very good friends. I almost feel apologetic,” Dilfer said on WEEI’s “Dale & Holley with Rich Keefe.” “When I said that last week, it was that — I felt like the Patriots were creating that message to start a bidding war for Jimmy Garoppolo. I did not mean to throw Adam’s name in there by any stretch of the imagination. I listened to my sound and I sounded like I was accusing Adam of being a pawn for the New England Patriots. By no means was I implying that whatsoever.

“I regretfully take back putting Adam’s name into that. I stand by my comments saying that this is very common in the NFL where teams will get a bidding war going by getting numbers out there. I guess that was what I was trying to say last week. I feel bad that this has become a thing because I respect Adam as much as anybody at ESPN.”

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The ESPN-on-ESPN insults started last week when Dilfer suggested Schefter played up Garoppolo’s trade value on the air — which Dilfer interpreted as the Patriots using him as a puppet — insisting the backup quarterback would be worth a first- and a fourth-round pick, just like Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford. That would give the Patriots more leverage should they decide to trade him this offseason, one year before his contract expires.

“I can promise you nobody is trading a first and a fourth for Jimmy,” Dilfer said on WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” show. “Now, it’s smart that the brass in New England is using Adam to get that headline out there because now they are starting the market there. Now to negotiate from that point, that is a good point to negotiate from. There’s only a handful of players in the league you would trade a first and a fourth for.”

Schefter defended his professionalism Tuesday morning on WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan” by clarifying where his information came from — or rather, didn’t come from.

“I can tell you this: Nobody in New England has ever told me a certain price that they would want, or are expecting on Jimmy Garoppolo. I can promise you that,” Schefter said. “The New England brass is not using me to get a price out on Jimmy Garoppolo. That is a fact that we can dispel right there. That is factually incorrect.”

Dilfer, having addressed Schefter’s latest takedown Tuesday night, wasn’t ready to fully concede to his colleague. He insisted he still doesn’t agree with Schefter’s weighing of the marketplace.

“I think it’s a first-rounder, I just don’t think it is a first and something else,” Dilfer said. “I don’t think it is a high first. I could be wrong. I am just going based off the people I talk to. I don’t talk to all 32 teams. I don’t know who else is in the market for him.”